The 39th Hunger Games Carabelle Mentoniak
by Flossah
Summary: Carabelle Mentoniak is reaped. But she can't use any weapons. She doesn't have survival knowledge. And she's not cunning or exceptionally smart. How will she win the hunger games? - Sorry, I'm bad at summaries!
1. Reaping

**Sorry if this first chapter is long and boring! I promise the next ones will be better!**

The face that stares back at me doesn't feel like my own. The honey blonde hair and those piercing blue eyes look like they just don't belong to me. They belong to

a girl who name is in a reaping ball. I feel weird. I feel sick. 'You have nothing to worry about! Your name is only in there a few times!' My mother assures me as I

stand in front of our only mirror. She rubs my shoulders and smiles. It is a fake smile. I know she is worried. My name is Carabelle Mentoniak. It is the 39th hunger

games and our district, District 10 hasn't had a victor in twenty years. Mum starts braiding my hair, she weaves in pieces of ribbon to make it look nicer but with

each strand she weaves, I can feel her hands shaking.

I am 15 and this is my 4th reaping. I've grown to realise that every reaping feels the same. I wear the same faded pink skirt and white blouse as we are too poor

to afford new clothes. And I get the same nervousness; it eats away at my stomach and doesn't leave until the reaping is over. Although, this year I have double

the nerves because it is my twin brother's first reaping. I don't know what would be worse, dying in the hunger games or watching a sibling die on the TV. My

Mum's voice interrupts my thoughts, 'Can you go wake up Jarred and Malikee?' She asks as she hurries off to the kitchen. Poor Mum. Dad was executed four years

ago for stealing food, so that we wouldn't starve. It made Mum incredible fragile. Which means that if she lost any more family, she would, well… I don't like to think.

I pull open the threadbare curtain that divides my room and the twin's. My brothers are both sleeping restlessly. 'Malikee, Jarred, come on. It's the reaping, you

have to get up.' Suddenly they are both wide awake. Jarred starts to cry and Malikee hides under the covers. 'Don't worry. It's your first year, you won't get

picked. We've talked about this. Dress quickly and come to breakfast.' I close the curtain. I feel sorry for them. Your first year is always the worst. I sit down at the

table that my Dad carved and polished. Mum doesn't bother to fix me any food; she knows I can't eat when I'm nervous. I stare at the clock; we have 15 minutes

before we have to leave. I chew my honey blonde braid. What scares me most about the hunger games is the fact that I'm useless. Okay not useless. I'm a fast

runner, I am the 100, 200, 400 metre champion 3 years running in our entire district. But that's all. I can't throw a spear or shoot an arrow. I'm not smart or cunning. I don't have that many survival skills except for a will to live.

But I know there is no real point in worrying. My name is only in there 8 times. It's unlikely, but not impossible. 'Carabelle!' My mother shakes me, 'You were

daydreaming again! It's time to go. Are you alright?' What a stupid question! 'Oh yes Mum, I'm fantastic! I can't wait to be whisked away to capitol! I love the

hunger games!' She looks like someone who's just been stabbed with a poisonous knife. I stand up and put my arm around. 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so

sarcastic.' She embraces me, 'You have no idea how much I love you and your brothers.' She grabs my hand and we walk to the door. My brothers nervously follow

us then Malikee says 'This could be our last time in the house.' Mum gasps and starts crying. I glare at my brothers 'Don't say things like that!' Mum blows her nose

and holds us all in a big group hug. Her grip is so tight I think she would have never let go.

Eventually, we walk outside and follow the crowds of parents and kids looking just as nervous as I do. When we reach the square I sign in, then I file in line next

to my best friend Tatiyarna. I hold her hand so tightly my knuckles turn white. I bite my lip as the comically dressed capitol lady named Missie begins her usual

speech. Then we watch the video, it's the same every year. 'Now it's time to select the tributes! Ladies first!' She calls in her strange capitol accent. She teeters in

her high heels to the big glass ball. She pulls out the first slip she sees. 'Carabelle Mentoniak!' I breath out a sigh of relief. For a second I thought I heard my

name. Wait! I'm sure I heard my name! No I was just imagining it! But everyone's looking at me. Oh! It really was my name! I let go of Tatiyarna's hand. I attempt

to look confident as I walk to the stage. With each step I can feel the bile rising in my throat. Missie smiles at me when I step onto the stage. 'Miss. Mentoniak!

And now for the gentlemen!' She picks a random slip. 'Dessi Pakapanuel !' Oh no! Dessi Pakapanuel is a year older than me but he has serious mental problems.

He doesn't go to school but from what I know, he can't speak and he can't do anything. He walks weirdly onto the stage. He kicks the microphone and makes

strange sounds. Missie screams and runs towards the justice building. The peacekeepers hit Dessi over the head before marching me into the building.


	2. Train ride & Goodbye

**Again, I know this is boring but keep reading, the games will be up soon!**

I am instructed to wait in a small room. It's so small it could be a toilet cubicle. It smells like one to. Probably because lots of tributes threw up in nervousness. I sit

down on the floor, hugging my knees. After the thing with Dessi, District 10 is probably the laughing stock of all of Panem. There's no way we'll get sponsors now.

Suddenly the door bursts open. My Mother and brothers embrace me with tears. 'I love you so much honey!' Then a peacekeeper takes them away. 'Do your best!'

Mum calls. I start crying. I thought we would get at least five minutes! Do your best? She used to say that before I would compete in a race. Maybe I should treat the games like a race?

Then someone else comes in. 'I should have volunteered for you!' Tatiyarna cries as we hug. 'Carabelle listen to me! You don't have any skills that would help you

in the hunger games so your chances are slim. But here's some advice: Stay away from the Cornucopia, find some good allies and- but a peacekeeper drags her

away. I sit back down on the floor and wait. They must be having trouble with Dessi, they're probably sedating him or something. I've always felt that it was unfair

to have disabled tributes. Actually I think the whole idea of the games is unfair. When the peacekeepers arrive I'm surprisingly relieved. The waiting was really getting to me.

I gasp when I step into the train. I have never seen such finery. The walls are covered in navy blue and white silk. The carpet is soft and matches the walls. My

mentor, Petra, and Missie sit at a table made of glass. As I enter Missie stands up and welcomes me but Petra stays silently eating and doesn't stand up, or even

turn around. 'Your room is the end door over there. You can freshen up and change. I would normally let our Avox show you everything but he has his hands full

with Dessi.' I let myself into the allocated room. Everything is furnished in a silky white colour. I don't like it at all. It's unnaturally perfect. I wash my face and

change into a pale blue tank top and black pants. (The only normal clothes I could find!) When I emerge from the room Petra and Missie are eating and there's still

no sign of Dessi.

'Hey honey! Come eat! There's some things we need talk about!'

'You mean about the games? Where do they stash water? Will there be lots of muts? Have you watched the other reapings? Should I team up with the careers?'

'Slow down!' Petra says in a calming voice, it's the first time I've heard her speak. 'We won't be talking about the games until after training. What we need to talk

about is the chariot parade. There won't be one. Because last year 2 tributes tried to attack the crowd. So when you get to the apartment, you can go to sleep

then training will begin in the morning.'

I'm grateful. Dessi would have been the last person to stand next to in a chariot.

I gape at the table of rich food. I know I need to stuff myself in order to gain weight. As I take a huge slice of roast lamb Missie starts to bang on about sponsors,

stylists, outfits… She does my head in! I am relieved when we reach the capitol.


	3. Training day 1

**Here is the training day 1! The games will hopefully be up soon! The bloodbath (the start of the games) will be in either chapter 5 or 6! Enjoy! **

Phew! I am very thankful when we stumble in the doorway of the apartment thingy. I collapse on the purple sofa. Missie informs me that Dessi is safely locked in

his room and that I need to go to mine. I take a long shower all though the shower is not really a shower at all. I change into a dark green skirt and top. On the

glass bedside table is a remote. I point it towards the window. The window turns into a TV with a lady advertising some sort of food machine. At that moment

Missie barges in. 'Carabelle! They're replaying the reapings on channel 726!' She squeals excitedly. I press the numbers on the remote. They show the career

districts and 3 first. They all have funny names. After watching the earlier districts I start to become more and more tired. How will I ever remember who they all

are? I turn the TV off when they finish district 12. I crawl into the bed and drift off to sleep. I dream of my brothers being murdered by wolves.

'Wake up darling!' Missie calls. I'm drenched in sweat. I start to sob. I am about to go to training in a room full of weapons with horrible people who want to kill

me. But I manage to dress and walk out of the safety of my bedroom. Petra tells me to sit down on the sofa and ignores my crying. 'Okay, so what are your skills?'

'Uhhh… well I'm a champion sprinter.'

'That's…good. Any survival skills? First aid knowledge? Tree climbing? Camoflague? Bow and arrow?'

'No, just running. I'm useless at most things in the hunger games.' She thinks for a moment.

'Alright, in training today I want you to focus on Survival skills, meaning: plants, knots and snares, Also hand- to -hand combat skills and the obstacle course. Don't

waste your time picking up knives or axes. If and how you make allies is up to you.' I stare at her wondering how she won the games.

When we arrive at the centre I see all the other tributes at door. I start to shake. Calm down! Calm down! I tell myself. I follow them into the training room,

keeping a safe distance. The head trainer starts to talk. I don't hear any of it; I'm too busy looking at the horrible weapons. Will all of these be in the cornucopia?

As the chatter resumes I realise that training has begun. I don't move. Scanning the room for something to do I see the knots station. Every other tribute seems

to have found what they want to do. Except the 13-year-old from 12, she has the same look on her face as I do. But I'm too nervous to make allies at this point.

I begin tying the knots. I only want to make 1 or 2 allies and I don't want allies who are snobby, cunning or very good with weapons. As I finish tying my last knot

I feel a tap on my shoulder.

'Would you like to be allies with me?' The girl from district 12 asks. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She looks even skinner than me although she is a lot taller. But she looks trustworthy.

'Sure. I'm Carabelle Mentoniak.'

'I'm Lilac Bray. Do you have any talents?'

'I can sprint. And I wasn't too bad at knots. You?'

'I know lots about survival, snares, plants, first aid. But I don't have any fighting skills.'

'Why don't we go over to the hand- to-hand combat station.'

As we make our over I get my first look at the careers. This year the winning alliance is made up of all the tributes from 1,2 and 4. They look almost bored. And

they hit the targets perfectly almost every time. The girls from 2 and 4 are both really short but the rest are tall. There are two trainers at the hand-to-hand

combat station, both teaching a different type of combat. The first one I train with gives me a plastic knife covered in blue paint. I have to get the paint on his torso

area whilst dodging his paint knife. At first he gets me easily. But gradually I become better. I get paint three times on his chest. Then I swap with Lilac. The other

trainer shows me different methods of attack without using weapons. She demonstrates kicks, punches and blocks. I get the hang of it eventually.

When lunch is called Lilac and I sit together. The food is rich and appears to make Lilac feel sick. She pulls out a notepad and pen.

'So what is our strategy?' She asks,

'Well I think we should get another ally. When you hear the gong, don't go to the cornucopia. I will get the supplies. I can out run every tribute easily. But you run

a few metres in the opposite direction of the cornucopia and we'll meet up and run for cover.'

I contemplate my plan as we walk back into the centre. It seems simple enough but who will be our other ally?

**See that box below? Yeah that one! Please put a review in it! You know you want to!**


	4. Last day of Training

**I think the games will be up in chapter 8, but i cant be sure at this stage! Sorry if there's a few grammar mistakes! PLEASE READ & REVIEW!**

Carabelle: Make sure you read this!

Tributes

Tremor Piaff (m) -17

Sequoia Aster (f) -18

Citron Harrikin - 18

Emerae Copper - 16

Zac Miffishonel - 14 BB

Tineeka Elmhurst - 12

Braxtin Van Buren - 17 BB

Pepper Stanethy - 15

Leaf Ashcoren - 16 BB

Demi Hanwell - 13 BB

Treelore Rippon - 15

Corinne Rayne - 15

Joss Glick - 17

Areaverly Faulding - 16

Ellick Kingum - 15

Star Ickalacosh – 12 BB

Vollon Hopperdean - 16

Elnora Sycamore - 14 BB

Dessi & You

Conrer Wathetee - 13 BB

Quenton Tell - 16

Taran Porterdill - 14

Lilac Bray - 13

I looked carefully at the list of tributes that Petra has made for me. Today is the big day. Half of today would be for training and the other half for proving ourselves

to the game makers. Lilac and I still haven't made another ally. We tried the tributes from 3, 6, & 7 but none of them were interested. As the doors on the elevator

close, I cross out certain names on the list. When they open I walk confidently into the training room and stand next to Lilac.

'Tributes, you have 4 hours training then after lunch you will be assessed by the game makers.' The head trainer announces. 'You may begin.' As Lilac and walking

to the obstacle course she points to the careers. A lanky, blonde boy walks up to them asking if he could join. It's embarrassing to watch. They laugh at him and

tell him he useless. He walks away red-faced. Then I remember what my father used to say: "Everyone is good for something." Without asking Lilac I walk to the

tree climbing station where he is hiding behind a fake oak. Silent tears pour down his face.

'Would you like to be in alliance with Lilac and I?' He looks like he's won the hunger games.

'Thank-you! I mean…Yes! I'm Ellick from 8.'

'I'm Carabelle from 10. I'm a champion sprinter. Can you do anything?'

'I can climb trees and I'm okay at combat.'

As we go from station to station I realise that my allies are the kind of people I friends with at home. It's a shame that we might end up killing each other. 'So,

what is your strategy, so far?' Ellick asks,

'Well, Carabelle will sprint for something that's not too close to the cornucopia, whilst you and I wait for her. Then we will run together somewhere.' Lilac answers.

The head trainer calls us for lunch.

As we tuck into the food I realise that I haven't even thought about what I'm going to show the game makers. I'm pretty good at the obstacle course so I may well

do that. 'Do you know what skills the careers and other tributes have?' Lilac whispers, glancing around the room.

'The boy from 1 uses a sword, and the girl uses throwing stars. The tributes from 2 are pretty much all rounders. The tributes from 4 both throw spears.' Ellick says.

'Quenton from 11 is uses a bow and arrow. And Joss from 7 is pretty handy with a spear.' I add.

The sound of scooting chairs tells me it's time to show the game makers what we can do. I stand with everyone else and file into line at the door.


	5. Training Scores

**Please R&R! The I can now reveal that the games will be up in about chapter 10!**

'How did you go?' Ellick asks as I slam my fist on the elevator button. I had just finished my session with the game makers and I was fuming.

'Ellick they didn't even look at me! They just stuffed themselves and got drunk! I did the obstacle course and sprinted across the room and they just shrugged their shoulders! Anyway, how did you go?'

'It was much the same for me. But it will be worse for Lilac. She's last. But hopefully we will all get low training scores.' The elevator glides upwards.

'What? How will that be good?'

'Well we won't get many sponsors but we won't have any pursuers in the games. The careers always hunt down the greatest threats first.' The elevator stops on his floor.

'Thanks for waiting for me after the session.'

'That's okay. See you at interviews.' I blush as he squeezes my hand.

'Carabelle it's on!' Petra calls. I race out of my room and sit on the purple sofa. They show the males in the district first, showing only a photo of the tribute and their score.

District 1

Tremor Piaff- 9

Sequoia Aster – 9

District 2

Citron Harrikin – 11

Emerare Copper – 10

Surprise! Surprise! An 11 in district 2!

District 3

Zac Miffishonel – 7

Tineeka Elmurst -5

District 4

Braxtin Van Buren- 8

Pepper Stanethy – 11

District 5

Leaf Ashcoren – 4

Demi Hanwell – 5

District 6

Treelore Rippon – 3

Corinne Rayne – 8

'Wow!' Petra says, 'The girl from six must be good to get an 8!'

District 7

Joss Glick – 6

Areaverly Faulding – 6

District 8

Ellick Kingum – 5

Star Ickalacosh- 4

Ellick got the low score he wanted.

District 9

Vollon Hopperdean – 7

Elnora Sycamore – 6

I'm next!

District 10

Dessi Pakapanuel – 0

Carabelle Mentoniak – 6

A six. I guess the score won't change my performance in the arena. 'Good job Carabelle. There's a small hope that you might get sponsors.' I can hear the disappointment in her voice. I don't what she was expecting.

District 11

Conrer Wathetee – 5

Quenton Tell – 7

District – 12

Taran Porterdill – 6

Lilac Bray – 5

Petra turns the TV off. 'You might want to freshen up a little. You have interview prep in an hour. It will be less painful if you look respectable.'

She ignores my loud groan.

**Look at that pretty box below! Located it yet? It would be even more pretty if you put a review in it! Please!**


	6. Interview

**I'm trying to make the chapters as short as possible. This is the interview chapter. Enjoy! please R&R**

'Hello! I'm Persephone, your stylist.'

I stand naked in front of a capitol lady with strange purple skin and teased blue hair. For the last two hours I have been waxed, bathed, manicured, and scrubbed and anything else you can think of to make me look "beautiful". It's ridiculous. I don't want to look like someone from the capitol. Persephone circles me. Other than her appearance she seems like a decent person – well compared to my weird prep team.

'Okay! I'm going to dye the ends of your hair in all different colours. Don't worry it will wash out!'

She puts a smock over my naked body and paints colour on the tips of my honey blonde hair. Then she unzips a plastic case and pulls out an outfit. She puts on stripy, knee-high socks with bright colours that match my hair. She then puts me into a stripy, formal, tunic. It's so short it barely covers my butt. I look in the mirror. I actually look better than I thought I would. My hair is curled and the ends look amazing. 'All I have to do now is your make-up!'

I stand next to Lilac and Ellick backstage. Even from here you can't miss the excited buzz of the audience. Because there was no chariot parade this year, this is their first time meeting us. I think of my Mom and brothers back home. They're probably dying of nervousness. I wonder if they were happy about my score… 'You got a six!' Lilac says as if reading my mind.

'Yeah, at least it's a guarantee that we won't have pursuers. ' I answer. Then we hear the show start.

'Ladies and Gentlemen, your host Caesar Flickerman!' The people backstage instruct us to file into line in order of districts. I am suddenly scared. I don't know what's worse. This interview or being killed in the 39th hunger games. Missie gave me an hour of interview preparation on how I should walk and what I should say. But I really can't remember any of it. I see Ellick, a few people in front of me. He actually looks hot in his pants and suspenders. Then I hear the audience clap as Sequoia, the first tribute walks on. I close my eyes and imagine my Dad. At least he's dead. It would have broken his heart to watch me die in the hunger games. 'Um…excuse me.'Quenton from 11 nudges me.

'Get ready; I think you're on next.' The buzzer sounds. Vollon from 9 walks off. I step out onto the stage. I freeze. A huge crowd of silent faces stares down at me. My legs are shaking. The lights burn my eyes. I try to move, I try to breath. But I can't. Everything goes black.

'Wake up honey!' A someone yells in my face. I feel terribly unusual. I'm sitting in a chair in strange clothes, propped up with lots of pillows.

'And we're on in 5, 4,3,2…'

Where am I? Oh that's right! I fainted before my interview.

'Hi Carabelle!' Oh, it's Caesar. I look straight ahead. The crowd is still staring down at me. I see the other tributes in the front row. The careers are smirking. Ellick and Lilac look sympathetic.

'Hi Caeser!'

'We're doing your interview now. How do you feel?' I try to think of something to say.

'Urr…well I've been feeling sick all day. But I don't feel too bad right now.'

He asks questions about my family and district 10. I answer all the questions without giving away too much. Finally he wishes me good luck and the buzzer sounds.

'I still can't believe you fainted!' Missie yells as we walk in the door of the apartment.

'I could die tomorrow Missie and all you're worried about is the fact that I fainted in my interview.'

'Enough!' Petra yells over the top of us. 'Carabelle go to bed and try to sleep! Missie, do whatever you have to do to prepare for tomorrow.'

I storm into the room and slam the door. I get into bed without undressing. Then I realise this may be the last sleep I ever have.

**What did you think? Review!**


	7. Nightmare

**This is a short chapter about Carabelle's nightmare. I included it because it's unrealistic to think that most people wouldn't have nightmares before the hunger games. Please R&R. Enjoy!**_  
_

_A bell chimes. I am on a running track. I sprint straight away. Other people run beside me but quickly fall behind. I am ahead. The track keeps going. I look back. A giant wall of fire engulfs everything behind me. I run faster. The fire turns into a swarm of angry tracker jackers. They chase me. I keep running. I crane my neck to see how close they are. BANG! I slam into something. I fall down, winded. I look up. A golden horn gleams above me. I bumped into the cornucopia._

I sit up in bed. The room is dark and silent. It was only a dream Carabelle! You're not in the cornucopia.

I pull off the covers and tip-toe out the door.


	8. On the balcony

**Heaps of you have read this story, but very few have reviewed! Please review! Oh and enjoy this chapter!**

I sit next to Petra on the balcony. She doesn't say anything. We stare out at the bright lights of the capitol.

'Um… Petra I noticed on the list of tributes you gave me, you wrote BB next to some names. What does BB mean?

'Oh, that means I predict they will die in the bloodbath.'

'What! But how do you know?'

'After doing this for 20 years I have an idea of what kind of people will die in the bloodbath. But I'm not always right.'

I ask the question that's been bugging me since I met Petra.

'How did you win the games?'

She sighs heavily. 'I was in an alliance of 5 people, including my district partner. I wasn't bad at combat and I could sort of throw knives. On the 6th day- well the night of the 6th day- there were 11 tributes left. We had set up camp in a cave. I was meant to be on watch but I took most of their supplies and ran. I hid in a tree. The next day, all my allies were hunted and killed by the careers. After that I stayed in the tree for 3 days.' Her voice is choking and sobbing. She is quivering all over.

'Then suddenly the arena turned extremely cold. And it snowed and hailed. My sleeping bag wasn't warm enough and I could barely feel my body. Then they announced there would be a feast in the morning. At that point, including me, there were only 4 tributes left. A boy from six and two careers. I went to the cornucopia in the cover of the night. I had a pair of night vision glasses which helped me. When I got there I hid in the very back of the cornucopia. I didn't sleep. I grabbed my bag as soon as it appeared. But I stayed in the cornucopia. Then, the boy from six came and got his bag without noticing me. But as he was leaving the careers arrived and killed him. They didn't notice me either. So the career girl took a swipe at the boy. She killed him, eventually, but he wounded her so badly. I ran from the cornucopia stabbed her in the back. She was my only kill in all of the games.'

Neither of us say anything for a while.

'What will happen to Dessi? I haven't seen him since the reaping.' I say, changing the subject.

'I thought you would have figured that out. Well, the game makers think that as soon as the gong sounds he will die. Which is good for you, since you will get double sponsors.'

'D-do-y -you think I have chance ?'

'A chance of what? Winning? Look kid. Every year I tell the tributes that there's something special about them. That there different from all the other tributes that I've mentored. But every year they die. So, this year I'm not going to lie. Carabelle you're a good runner. But no-one can run forever. There are so many variables in the arena that, so to be frank you probably won't win. But you can try. And I will help you.'

I stare at her. My mentor has just told me that I will probably die. She only killed one person. How many will I kill?

'Go to bed Carabelle. You'll need all the sleep you can get.'


	9. The Launch

**I'm trying to make the chapters as short as possible! Hope you like it! Review!**

I can't believe this is really happening! I wish it was a nightmare! But it can't be. In a nightmare, you never pee your pants whilst flying in a hovercraft!

'Arm please!' The lady says. I bite my lip so I don't scream as she injects the tracker. The beefy, blonde boy from 2 sniggers. For the past two hours he has been tormenting me. I peed my pants when he talked about something called 'hung, drawn and quartered.'

The atmosphere in the cabin is no better. I suppose everyone is thinking about their families. I wonder what Malikee, Jarred and Mum are doing now?

Ellick gives a slight nod at me every so often, from across the cabin. I go through our plan in my mind again. Run for something close, then meet Lilac and Ellick. I wonder what the arena will be like. Last year the whole arena was a mountain range. Some of it was under forest and some it was just wide open hills. One tribute died of exhaustion from going up and down the mountains. I hear some sort of command over a loud speaker but my brain can't make sense of the words. All of us stand up. Some tributes groan and stretch as the hovercraft door opens. NO! My brain screams. This is my death sentence! I walk in the group with the other tributes. Then I notice Dessi. It's the first time I've seen him since the reaping. He makes weird sounds and a peacekeeper has to grab him. But suddenly I lose sight everyone. I'm pushed into a small room. I see a small glass elevator. Oh goodness this is it!

'Hi honey!' Persephone squeals, giving me a hug. She helps me dress. The outfit is a khaki shirt with matching, baggy short-shorts. Under the shorts are tight, black, cotton pants. The footwear is sneakers that look like hiking boots. They should be okay for sprinting. She gives me another hug.

'I have to say, you may be a quiet one but you're the nicest tribute I've styled in my eight years.' She starts tearing up.

'Oh Persephone! I'm petrified.'

'I know. But- this is my line that I hate saying every year- it's time.' She gestures towards the launch pad. We both burst into tears. She dries my eyes and squeezes my hand as I step onto the plate. The glass closes. I make a love heart symbol with my fingers. She covers her hands with her face and I see the tears pour out again. Then she disappears as I shoot upwards. Blinding light pierces my eyes. I've heard that when you die you "see the light". Maybe I am dead? But my eyes adjust. I'm in the arena.

**Guess what? You could make someone smile (me) today, without having to donate money! All you have to do is put a review in that beautiful boxthere!**


	10. The games begin!

**Yay! the games are finally here! Please review!**

A strange sense of peace comes over me. I wonder if Dad felt like this before his execution.

60, 59, 58…

The air is hot and sticky. I'm in the middle of the semi-circle of tributes. About 30 metres in front of me is the cornucopia. I have to say, they've done a pretty good job with the arena this year. The scenery is amazing. Behind the cornucopia is a huge rock face. 3 separate waterfalls cascade from it. Ellick is on the plate next to me. But Lilac is on the end, with about 11 tributes in between us.

_Bang! _

The noise nearly makes me fall over. Dessi jumped off his plate! I wonder whether they blew him up deliberately.

43, 42, 41…

Scanning the supplies outside the cornucopia, I see a huge, navy, backpack. But it's a bit too close to the cornucopia for comfort. I look over the supplies again. There's a fluoro green backpack that is a bit smaller than the navy one but it's still rather large. It's halfway from the cornucopia; I should definitely get to it in time. But where will we run once we meet up? To my left is a steep hill that leads to the top of the waterfalls. And to my right is a similar hill that also leads to the top of the rock face. Both hills are covered in jungle that gets thicker on top of the rock face.

29, 28, 27…

My mouth drops open in shock when I look over my shoulder. Behind me is a vast wetland swamp, with tall, thin green reeds. I suppose that would be reasonable cover. And I'm guessing that most tributes will go for the jungle. I raise my eyebrows at Ellick to get his attention. I incline my head towards the wetlands. He nods discreetly. I give the same signal to Lilac.

12, 11, 10…

I get into a sprinting position. I focus on the green backpack. My teeth begin to chatter and my skin feels hot and prickly. You can do this Carabelle! You're not useless.

2,1…_Bong!_

I jump off the plate and run for the pack. I get away faster than everyone else, reaching it easily. I heave it onto one shoulder and sprint in the opposite direction of the cornucopia. But because I was so fast, a wall of tributes comes towards me. I scream as Leaf, the boy from district 5, throws me to the ground. I get up quickly and start to run but he grabs my hair. Without turning around I deliver a hard kick to his groin. He falls and I keep running.

I spot Lilac and Ellick standing a few yards away.

'Run! The wetlands!' I scream as I reach them. Just as we start to sprint for our lives, a spear lands in front of us. It narrowly missed Ellick. He stops to pick it up.

'Leave it! We have to hurry!' Lilac yells. Two arrows land near us before we enter the reeds. _Splash!_ Suddenly,I'm up to my waist in muddy water, which is much deeper than I expected. Ellick takes the lead and we move as quickly as we can through the swamp, but it's quite difficult. We have to keep pushing the reeds aside and the splashing sounds -probably made by nearby tributes- are also very unsettling. The problem is, the reeds are so thick and tall that it's impossible to tell how close the other tributes are. We could be 2 metres away from someone without knowing.

After about five minutes I say: 'How long do you think we should travel for?'

'Shhh! We need to say quiet for at least an hour. That'll ensure there's a lot of space between the other tributes and ourselves. After an hour, we can talk about plans.' Lilac answers.

As we keep going, the water gets deeper and deeper, until I'm up to my shoulders. I don't whether the backpack is water proof, so I have to hold it above my head. One good thing about the water is it gives us relief from the heat. Quite a few tributes ran from their plate without getting any supplies so I wonder how they're coping with the heat. After what we think is an hour, Ellick makes us stop. 'Don't move, stay still and just listen.' He whispers. I'm worried he's heard or seen something. We listen in fear for about 5 minutes. I actually can't hear anything. Maybe I'm just deaf.

'See? I think this means that we are far away from all the other tributes.' He says.

'Okay, so let's move and talk.' I say.

'What are we going to do about setting up a camp?' Lilac asks.

'I think we will have to get through this swamp to dry land.' I reply.

'But these reeds are so thick we could be walking in circles. And the water could get even deeper.' Ellick exclaims.

'It will be getting dark soon, so our best bet is to press on.' I answer.

We agree to keep going for another hour. Our pace becomes slower and I feel like I need water. Then after about 40 minutes Lilac sees something.

'See that kind of gap in the reeds?' She points to the left. Ellick and I don't see anything. As we get closer she cries: 'I think it's an island!' She right but it's more a dry, raised lump of dirt. Ellick pulls himself onto it first and then helps us up. There's just enough room for all three of us.

We open the backpack. It contains 2 sleeping bags, a pair of strange looking glasses, a basic first aid kit, a small bottle of sunscreen, 4 empty drink bottles with Iodine, 2 big packets of dried fruit and one of beef jerky, 20 metre rope and a coil of wire.

'The sun's going to go down soon, where can we get any water?' I say. Lilac breaks off the top of a reed and squeezes it into one of the bottles. A small trickle of water flows from the reed.

'These reeds each hold a little bit of water.' She says.

'Is it safe to drink?' I ask as she grabs more reeds.

'Once the bottles are full we'll put in the Iodine, then we'll drink it in the morning.'

Ellick and I get the reeds while Lilac squeezes them for water. By the time we fill up all four bottles it is pitch black.

'Should we eat anything?' Ellick asks. At that moment, as if to answer his question, a silver parachute drops onto the island. I open it greedily. It is a thermos of steaming hot vegetables and 3 thin slices of roast lamb. We eat it ravenously as the Panem seal appears in the sky.

'Who do you think died?' Lilac asks nervously. I think back to Petra's list.

The first face is Dessi. I feel sad, but I guess he was doomed from the start.

The next is the boy from 11 Conrer. The next shocks me, Vollon from 9. He got a highish score in training. I wonder if Leaf, the boy who attacked me, got killed. The first female face appears, Demi from 5. Petra predicted that she would die. Ellick cries when sees his district partner Star. 'She was only 12! I should have protected her.' The next face is another twelve-year-old, Tineeka from 3. The last face is Treelore from 6. I think he got one of the lowest scores.

'That's seven dead, meaning that there's …14 other tributes not including ourselves.'

'I think we need to take a look around.' Ellick says handing Lilac the strange looking glasses.

'What are you talking about?' I ask confused.

'If Lilac sits on my shoulders she can use the night-vision goggles to see if there's anything beyond the reeds.' Ellick explains.

Once Lilac is perched on Ellick's shoulders, she scans in all directions. While she's up there, I notice the temperature is getting colder and colder.

'What did you see?' I whisper as she gets down.

'In the direction that we came I could see the rock face and the jungle. In the opposite direction there's what looks like a forest.'

'The swamp is good cover for now, but tomorrow the careers will be hunting. I think we should go to the forest, now.' I say.

'Not tonight. We need to sleep. Let's go tomorrow just before first light.' Ellick argues. Lilac agrees and I give in. And as I crawl into the sleeping bag and close my eyes, one thought occupies my mind. I'm alive.


	11. The first day

**Wow, I haven't updated in forever. I hope this chapter wasn't too boring. Please REVIEW!**

'Carabelle! Wake up!' Lilac whispers, shaking me. I sit up and look around. Its pitch black and all I can see around me are reeds.

'What is it? What's wrong?' I ask as she hands me a piece of flat bread. She shakes Ellick and he moans.

'The sun's about to rise so we need to get moving.' Lilac explains.

We each eat a small portion of bread and share one piece of beef jerky. We pack up everything just as we see the first sign of light. Our wet, muddy clothes dried overnight and we all groan when we step into the water. I take the lead, pushing reeds out of the way as the horizon slowly gets brighter.

'Are you sure we're going in the direction of the forest?' I ask.

'Yes we checked twice, remember?' Ellick says from the back. No one really says anything else and we all kind of go into a state of thinking. I hate the fact that I know Tatiyarna and my family are curled up in front of the TV set hoping that I won't die. It's weird, I feel like I could wave to them.

I'm so lost in my thoughts that I don't notice the water getting shallower.

'There's the forest!' The sky is almost fully lit up now, so it's impossible not to notice the trees ahead. But as we clamber onto the wetland bank, I realise it's a different kind of forest to what we thought. The trees are shorter and starker. But it seems to be never-ending so I guess it will make reasonable cover.

'It's more "the bush" than the forest.' Ellick points out.

'Does this mean we're not going ahead?' Lilac asks

'Where else are we going to go? This is the best cover we can get.' I reply. We begin walking through the bush. The sky is now fully bright and I can't see any signs that other tributes have been here. Suddenly, Lilac stops abruptly. She points to the ground a few metres in front of us.

'Don't you think the ground looks strange just there?' She says with concern. I pick up a big stick and throw it at the patch of ground she's pointing to. It lands, but then it falls into nothing. Then part of the patch caves in on itself creating a hole. We tread slowly and cautiously towards it. When nothing happens we bend down and peer into the hole. It's deep but if I stood up in it I would only be a bit shorter than the top. I guess it was as something to stop a running tribute from getting away from a fight. We decide to keep going, but keeping an eye out for more booby traps. We walk in silence for another 15 minutes when I see a fire.

'Quick! Duck behind those trees!' I hiss, jumping for cover. I can hear my heart beating. Everyone at home is probably on the edge of their seats. A minute passes. Then another. Evidently the people or person, have not seen us. I bravely turn my head around the tree. A boy sits at the fire cooking something in a makeshift pot. He's staring into the fire sharpening a wooden spear. I think it's Zac from 3. I slowly crawl behind a small, thick bush so that I am facing him. But as I move, a stick snaps beneath my knee. Zac jumps up clutching the spear. He points it readily, and scans the trees. He walks towards the exact spot where I am. Suddenly Ellick lunges out from a tree and spear tackles him. He jousts the spear and they wrestle on the ground. I don't know whether to move or to stay where I am. Then Lilac comes behind Zac and hits him on the head repeatedly with the backpack. He stands, punching, and then throwing her to the ground. But because he turned his back, Ellick was able to grab a stick. I automatically run to Lilac. She seems okay but Ellick is not coping well with Zac. I look around for something to help him with. I could throw sticks or stones but I might hit Ellick. Then I see the pot on the fire. I think its boiled water or stew or something. I run and pick it up. I run back and splash it in Zac's face. He cries out. Ellick takes the opportunity to seize the spear and stab him. He falls to the ground and we all stare at the body, shocked. One minute he looked so alive and now he's dead. _Boom! _The cannon fires.

'Does he have any supplies?' I ask, looking around the campsite.

'I don't see any. Let's just bury the fire coals and move on quickly.' Lilac answers quietly. Ellick remains silent.

After walking for about an hour I begin to notice the heat. We sit down and decide to take a two hour rest. I personally think it's a good idea. It's not like we're going to be in less danger if we go further into the bush. And I'm guessing most of the tributes are in the jungle anyway, which is miles away. I feel bad about Zac though. I can't shake the memory of him lying defencelessly on the ground.


	12. The cannons

We didn't hear any more cannons so it wasn't surprising when only Zac's face appeared in the sky. We sat in the same spot all day and when the seal of Panem disappeared we crawled into the sleeping-bags.

'How much water do we have left?' I ask.

'One full bottle and 3 half full bottles.' Lilac answers, 'The careers obviously haven't started hunting yet, don't they usually start killing straight away?'

'I think they'll probably start tonight. Let's have someone watching, I'll watch for the first half of the night and Carabelle, I'll wake you up to do the second half.' Ellick says.

'Okay, but don't scare me when you wake me. And let's have the pack ready in case we need to make a getaway.'

I try to sleep but the thought that mad teenagers are running round the arena at night with weapons, keeps creeping through my mind. We can't risk a campfire, so it's hard to see Ellick's face in the darkness.

'I hope you're not asleep.' I whisper. He smiles.

'What's life like in district 10?' he asks with what looks like a grin. I know every camera in Panem is probably on my face but I want to tell Ellick the truth.

'We're very poor. My Dad was… he died. And I live with my Mum and brothers. District 10 is livestock and I don't to school every day because I work in calf rearing.'

'What's calf rearing?'

'I take care of and raise all the baby dairy cows. So if you drink milk in the capitol, chances are I raised the cows that made it. What about you?'

He edges closer my sleeping bag. 'Well, I'm an only child and we're not really poor. But that's only because my Mum works for hours in a factory. My Dad teaches school. That's it really.'

Even though he's dirty and smelly and has a few bruises and cuts, he looks hot and cute. But it I don't really know how I feel about him. We don't talk until it's my turn to watch but even then he stays awake with me.

When the sun starts to rise Lilac goes off to make snares and Ellick and I roll up the sleeping bags.

'Ellick, did you hear any cannons last night?'

'No I didn't. Maybe, if we're lucky, all the careers are starving and wounded.'

'I doubt it, but it is a bit strange that not many tributes have died yet.'

When Lilac comes back we resume sitting around and doing nothing. After an hour I say: 'Let's go down to the swamp and collect some reeds. So that we can fill up all the drink bottles.'

'But we have enough to get us through for another day and a half, if we're vigilant.' Lilac argues

'But in a couple of days someone will start hunting in the swamp and in the bush.' I reply

We decide to go now instead of wait. After walking for an hour we hear a cannon. We all stop and stare at each other in fear. The sickening feeling creeps back into my mind. For the next hour my brain imagines people jumping out from trees and I keep looking over my shoulder. My stomach starts to hurt as we reach the reeds. We quickly grab a few armfuls then dash back into the bush. _Boom! _Another cannon. It makes us walk faster.

'The careers are out on the hunt.' Ellick says stating the obvious.

'I hope no-one saw us.' I reply.

We pass the hole that we found yesterday. Because we left nothing where we were last night, we've decided to go a little further into the bush just to be safe. After another hour we reach the snares that Lilac set up. One of them caught a strange looking squirrel. She pulls it out and collects the other empty snares. As we set off again _Boom! _Another cannon fires.

'Three people have died in the last four hours.' I say morbidly. No one replies. Another hour of walking passes and Lilac informs us that it is midday. After a long debate we agree to stay where we are and set up camp. We spend the rest of the day squeezing the reeds we gathered for water. Lilac weaves bags for us to carry stuff in and Ellick sharpens a few sticks for weapons. Nothing really happened. It's weird though, I thought the hunger games would be constant fighting and running. I guess that's happening to other tributes

Eventually it gets dark and all three of us stare at the sky eagerly. The first face is Leaf, the boy from five who attacked me. Areaverly from seven comes next. The next face is a huge shock, Emerae from 2. The Panem seal appears.

'I can't believe it! The career girl from 2!' Ellick exclaims.

'She probably got killed in a fight.' Lilac answers. I close my eyes and pull the sleeping bag over my head. My dreams are filled with horrific images of people being tortured. Suddenly someone shakes me awake.

'Carabelle wake up!' Ellick whispers. This must be it, my worst nightmare. Ellick tosses me a woven bag. He wakes Lilac and gives her the backpack.

'Take a spear!' He whispers to us.

'What is it?' Lilac asks frantically, then answering her question a boy appears through the trees.

'Run!' I squeal. We bolt.

I trip and fall as we race through the forest. We run for what feels like a year. My chest is heaving and I feel like I am about to throw up. Then, out of tiredness we slow down to almost a walk.

'Let's hide under this bush.' Ellick pants. We dive under the leaves. Everything goes quiet. Then alarm bells go off in my head as I hear leaves crackle under the noise of a running tribute. We don't need a hint; we scramble to our and run again. My legs won't hold out for much longer and I'm ten times fitter than the others. Our pace slows but so does that of our pursuer. Eventually we hide behind a big tree. I slump against the trunk, every part of my body hurts. I know I can't go on. I close my eyes and drift in to a light sleep.

The water dripping on me wakes me up. Actually I think it's rain. But a strange kind of rain I think. It seems to be dripping very slowly. It's still night-time. Wait. I look up and scream. A is boy standing over us dripping with blood and pointing an axe. Ellick and Lilac jump up and run. I don't get away in time and he takes a slash at my legs, only inflicting a small cut on my right one. I sprint and catch up to the others. I can't remember who the boy is but he looked very injured. But that won't impede him from killing us. After about 2 minutes of agonistic running, the boy is still following us. Then up ahead I spot the reeds. Damn. It's harder to move in the reeds and he might catch us.

'Split up!' Ellick calls as we hit the reeds. I begin to push through the reeds. I have never felt so frantic in my life. We've separated and I can hear Lilac and Ellick but I can't see them. As more time passes the splashing sounds become fainter. The sky starts to light up and I feel so alone. I don't what to do. I can't exactly stay where I am in the muddy water. But I can't move forward, because in another half hour I'll be near the cornucopia/waterfall area. I decide to turn my attention to the cut on my leg. Bending my knee, I pull my leg out of the water. The cut is on my upper calf. It's small but deep. In my woven bag I have food and a drink bottle but Lilac had the first aid kit. I decide to beg for medicine. 'Petra now be a good time for sponsors.' I say not too loudly. When nothing happens I ask again: 'Petra, this cut is really deep, I need medicine or I will die.' Nothing happens. I lean against the reeds and wait. After a short time, a silver parachute floats down. I open it. Inside is a tiny tin of ointment and a large, transparent, super-sticky Band-Aid. A small note says: _Apply this quickly and be alert. Very, very alert. And quick. – P_

I do as she says and start moving again. The sun has now risen and light is everywhere. From her note I got a bad feeling that a whole pack of careers is hunting me down. The nerves get to me and I fall and trip a lot. Then out of nowhere someone pushes me under the water. I struggle and push my body out of the water, spluttering. Corinne from six holds a sword at my throat. She tries to push me under again but I head butt her in the face with my head. She cries in pain and I seize the opportunity to knock the sword out of her hand. She rolls off me to pick it up. I run. The water gets shallower making it easier to push through the reeds. I look behind me. She throws the sword. I dive to my left but not fast enough. The sword lodges itself into my right shoulder. I scream in pain. But I stop and turn. This is my opportunity to show them how brave I am. I pull the sword out and run towards her. Panic flashes in her eyes. She skids and runs in the opposite direction. I pretend to follow her for a few seconds, but then I turn and run away from her. I keep running until my legs and shoulder are screaming in protest. I rub the ointment into my shoulder and try not to cry. I tear a strip of material from my shirt and attempt to bandage the wound. I press on in a kind of shocked, dazed state. But suddenly I'm standing on dry land. I stop dead. I gag the sight that greets me. It's too late to go back into the reeds now. About 200 metres in front of me is the cornucopia and 200 metres from the cornucopia is the waterfalls and the jungle. Two tents are set up around a small fire. I can't believe I've let this happen. I can't go back or I'll be noticed. I'm such an idiot. I'm going to die.

I've walked straight into the middle of the career camp.


	13. Unlikely Saviours

**Hello! I took a break from writing and fanfiction. Like a really long break! Like almost a year. So hello again! **

**Well here is the 13th chapter! There will be more to come! Please read & review! Enjoy!**

I freeze. My hearts stops. I am completely exposed. I see the backs of five people sitting around a campfire. But they don't see me. There's no cover, what am I doing just standing here? Sooner or later one of them is going to turn around. An idea hits me, their tents. Without thinking I bolt towards the nearest one. I wait for sound of running feet or yelling or weapons. But nothing happens. Crouching behind a navy blue tent in the middle of the careers camp will probably only increase my life expectancy by about 2 minutes but what else can I do?

The careers camp is situated in the middle part of the arena, near the cornucopia and the launch plates. The camp is apart from the crackling of the fire.

'Who ate my peaches?!' A female voice exclaims, breaking the silence.

'We have more than enough food don't we?' a male voice answers, 'Now that there is only five of us. But I would like some more rabbit, shall we go hunting soon?'

'I suppose so we should,' a different male voice says, 'Although I hope we end up hunting more than rabbits!'

They all laugh at his remark. My heartbeat quickens, please don't go hunting! Please don't go hunting!

'Did I leave my sword sharpener in my tent? I'll check.'

oh no. This is the moment, my death. I cover my mouth to hold the scream in. I look for a camera nearby. I want to almost wave goodbye to my family and Tatiyarna. _Zip! _He undoes the front of the tent. Will he see me, then stab me or, will he kill me slowly? I hear him rummage around in the tent. My heart heart is thundering so loudly, surely he can hear it?

'Found it!' He yells triumphantly, from inside the tent, just inches away from me.

Then a girl yells: 'Hey is that someone over there?' The boy in the tent runs out. This is it. I Carabelle Mentoniak am going to die. I close my eyes and brace myself.

'Where?'

'Look! There!' Suddenly, they all bolt past me towards the wetland. Taking the opportunity I skid round the side of the tent and dive in the open front. What follows is a lot of yelling and chaos.

'Someone get the knives!'

'Who is it?'

'Quick they're getting away!'

'How many should guard the camp?'

'Ok! Everyone stop and calm down,' a different female voice says, 'Braxtin and I will stay guard, you guys go.' I hear the splash of the hunting party entering the reeds.

The tent I'm in is dark and untidy with empty food cans, sleeping bags and weapons. Lots of weapons. It's hard to believe I'm still alive. If I can create some sort of diversion I might be able to get away from Braxtin and the girl before the others get back. But what about Ellick and Lilac? I abruptly realise that the person the careers are chasing right now could be one of them. Or it could be Corinne, she chased me here so she would be closer. The two careers are talking intently at the campfire. I slide myself slowly into a sleeping bag at the back. If one of them comes in the tent's so dark and messy hopefully they won't seen me. The tent is still open and I listen to their whispered conversation.

'So are we going to leave tonight?' Braxtin asks.

'No think the others will suspect it and they're probably planning their own getaways or possible attacks at night. Maybe tomorrow night? But maybe that's not soon enough?

'I have a better idea let's leave right now.' For a moment I think I've heard wrong.

'What? Wait actually this could work, we can go into the jungle because I think there's more tributes to kill there and it has better cover.'

This is the best news I've heard in all the games.

'Ok lets pack right now! Get two backpacks and gather most of the food and the water bottles, I'll get the weapons and other stuff.'

I need to think fast. I grab the nearest weapons, and two small boxes. I shove them under my top and lie flat in the sleeping bag. A long minute passes. Then I hear someone rush into the tent, picking up stuff. I can't see which one it is, but they're in and out in a flash and don't notice me. The bag is starting to get hot but I wait another five minutes before I take a brave peek out of the tent. The camp is deserted. I see two figures running on top of the rock face into the jungle. When they're out of sight I grab the sleeping bag and roll it up. I run around quickly grabbing other things I can find quickly. My main worry is that the careers will come back soon, so gather all the stuff in my arms and bolt for the cornucopia. I sit down behind it and lay the stuff out in front of me. One sharp knife and a metal chain with a hard, spiky ball attached to it (I think your supposed to swing it). There's also a large sheet of plastic, some protein bars, 3 cans of fruit, a full water bottle and a backpack. I keep the swinging thing and the knife handy, and put everything else into the backpack.

As I put it on I realise the backpack has some kind of armour in it that protects the torso and back. It probably wouldn't deflect a hard stab but it's better than nothing. I make a dash from the cornucopia and run back through the now very empty careers camp. In the hope of finding Ellick and Lilac I go towards the wetland. I feel confident. I have food, water and weapons and I'm alive. But as I splash into the mud I see three figures bolting towards me through the reeds. The other careers have returned, and this time they've seen me.

**So how was it? Tell me even if you don't have an account! REVIEW! Anyway have a nice day, XOXOXO 3 Flossah**


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